The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CIK BiH) announced the preliminary results of the early presidential elections in Republika Srpska this evening, according to which Siniša Karan (SNSD) is the new president of Republika Srpska.
CEC President Jovan Kalaba announced that Siniša Karan (SNSD) won 200,116 votes or 50.89 percent of the vote, while Branko Blanuša (SDS) won 188,000 votes or 47.8 percent of the vote. The preliminary results were announced based on 92 percent of the polling stations processed.
Dragan Đokanović received 1,684 votes, Nikola Lazarević 1,341, Igor Gašević 1,172 and Slavko Dragičević 928, according to the CEC.
Earlier this evening, SNSD President Milorad Dodik declared Siniša Karan the winner of the early presidential elections in Republika Srpska.
The SDS has announced that it will not recognize the victory of Siniša Karan, and that it will seek a repeat of the elections in Doboj, Zvornik and Laktaši.
Branko Blanuša, the SDS candidate for president of Republika Srpska in today’s early elections, said that he “could have declared victory if there had been no manipulation”.
“I could declare victory, but electoral irregularities have been established in Doboj, Laktaši and Zvornik. We will wait for the elections to be repeated in these three cities”, says Blanuša.
SNSD candidate for president of Republika Srpska in the early elections for entity president Siniša Karan addressed the public tonight after the SNSD declared his victory.
Namely, SNSD president Milorad Dodik declared victory at a press conference in Banja Luka, after which Karan himself addressed the public.
“Whenever it was the hardest, the Serbian people won. I thank all the citizens who recognized this moment and voted for RS. Thank you to Dodik and the policies he has been leading for 23 years, with our coalition partners. The Serbian people and RS can endure anything, but they have never endured humiliation from foreigners. The Serbian people are resolute in their response: No to any usurper. Peace and stability are our priority and those who voted against should also participate in this,” he said.
In the early presidential elections in Republika Srpska, the turnout was 35.78 percent or 443,472 voters, which is 17.2 percent less than in the previous elections, the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced.
At 2,211 polling stations, slightly more than 1.2 million citizens had the right to vote for the new president of Republika Srpska.
The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina has certified the candidacies of Dragan Đokanović (Alliance for New Politics), Branko Blanuša (SDS-Serbian Democratic Party), Siniša Karan (Alliance of Independent Social Democrats – SNSD – Milorad Dodik), Nikola Lazarević (Ecological Party of Republika Srpska), as well as independent candidates Igor Gašević and Slavko Dragičević, for participation in the early elections for the President of Republika Srpska.
